Note: The name "Bei Wanli" has been replaced with "Kanneshiro"
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Within the capital, workers and refugees toiled with fiery enthusiasm, and Wilder began to lay the plans for his own royal palace.
In this regard, Wilder and Claire could both be called perfect "architects." With their abilities combined, they could raise a skyscraper from flat ground.
However, Wilder didn't want everything built from blocks. That would look rather childish, and the palace of a nation should, at the very least, appear magnificent and awe-inspiring, shouldn't it?
With Wilder providing the rough concepts and his architects refining the designs, a unique palace complex was completed.
A hundred-meter-tall skyscraper stood in the very center of the swamp lake, piercing the clouds with imposing grandeur. A second tower like it could not be found anywhere else in the world of pirates; one could even say that such a thing as a high-rise building simply didn't exist in this world.
The foundation of the structure was built from square stones, a task completed under the control of Wilder's abilities. And it wasn't just the foundation; he also created a massive underground space beneath the swamp.
From there, the tower was constructed using a combination of stone, brick, and blocks. The four corner pillars were made entirely of Claire's blocks.
Wilder named this great tower "Skyhold."
The very top floor was, naturally, Wilder's personal office and leisure area. It was constructed entirely of one-way glass, allowing him to see out, while no one could see in.
The floors below the top were all office spaces for the members of Morass, though they were mostly occupied by the officials governing the country. In that sense, the building was the central administration tower.
With Skyhold Tower as the central point, the cliffs behind it were carved out and built into a sprawling palace complex. This was the true royal residence. The main hall was where Wilder convened with his high-ranking officers and also served as his living quarters. The auxiliary halls had various functions, serving as residences for other members, as well as housing important facilities like the national treasury, the armory, and the science department.
Of course, due to the pervasive swamp gas in the area, all the buildings were constructed using special methods. It took the science and construction departments half a month of constant work to develop a way to ensure the interiors remained free of the gas.
Despite this, anyone entering or leaving this area still wore a gas mask. Fortunately, the main offices were in Skyhold Tower, which was outside the range of the swamp gas. Because of this, many people, including the high-ranking officers and cadres, didn't actually live in the palace. Instead, they settled in the Direct Rule District. This was not only closer to their place of work but also served as a frontline defense against any potential invasion.
A new military force was established within the royal palace, equipped with standardized armaments. They wore gas masks 24 hours a day, except when resting. They were an elite force of three thousand, hand-picked from Morass's combat personnel and organized into three shifts. Wilder bestowed a name upon this unit: the Biohazard Unit. They were equipped with a special weapon jointly developed by the science and munitions departments: a back-mounted flight apparatus that allowed for high-speed, three-dimensional maneuverability with dual swords. The device was powered by swamp gas, and its users' combat prowess was astonishing.
A five-man team could take down a cadre—guaranteed.
Their leader was the best of the best, an elite's elite who followed Wilder's orders without question. He had been promoted from the ranks of the cadres and was now, for all intents and purposes, a high-ranking officer himself.
As for the forest atop the cliffs and the great fissure behind it, they were declared forbidden territory. Only Wilder could set foot there at will; no one else, not even Claire, was permitted to enter.
Not only was the forest filled with ferocious beasts, but the swamp gas was also thick and rampant. Wilder had a vague plan to use the area for his own training, where he wouldn't have to worry about being disturbed.
After the palace was built, the capital itself began to transform at a speed visible to the naked eye. New things appeared every day; the sight of towering scaffolding was ubiquitous, the most common scene in the entire city.
More and more homeless civilians, most of whom had lost their homes in the war, gathered from all corners of Morass. Others, however, saw a business opportunity and gambled their entire fortunes to make a new start here.
A nation needs to develop, and it couldn't rely solely on its own construction efforts. Without money, how could the building continue?
Therefore, Wilder decided it was time to open up trade with the outside world.
The Kingdom of Morass had few resources; it could even be described as barren. Everything required money, and they would soon have to rely on the outside world even for basic building materials.
For now, the only thing to do was to settle the refugees and have them start farming and raising livestock. Otherwise, an unknown number of people would starve to death before the nation could even get on its feet.
Fortunately, Wilder had the science department. In this weird and wonderful world, cultivation didn't seem too difficult. A new type of grain, born from the swamp, appeared. It would become Morass's unique export and the primary food source for its citizens.
It was a natural bread.
The plant resembled a sunflower, but its "flower head" was replaced by a loaf of "bread." It even had a natural sweetness, making it perfectly suited as a food source.
Wilder had discovered the plant in the forest on the cliffs. In its natural state, it contained toxins, but he saw something else of great importance within it. He handed it over to the science department for improvement and cultivation. The first step, naturally, was to remove the toxins. The second was mass production; its delicious flavor was inherent and needed no modification.
After three months of work, the improved grain, now fit for human consumption, was finally a success.
Wilder named it "Bread-Rice." It had nothing to do with rice, of course, but out of sentiment, he felt that a staple food ought to have "rice" in its name.
A detailed manual for cultivating Bread-Rice was distributed, and seeds were issued to the civilians. They were told to clear fields and plant it, using as much land as their capacity allowed. They could even plant it across the entire country if they were able.
The Bread-Rice they grew belonged to them. Of course, they could also sell it for money. Even so, no one dared to claim too much land. It was against the rules to let cleared land go to waste because one couldn't manage it.
This was just the initial plan. Free didn't mean free forever. For now, the people were eating food subsidized by the Kingdom of Morass. Although they were already planting crops, it would take at least half a year for them to mature. For that half-year, just feeding such a large population was a massive problem.
You couldn't just stand by and watch them starve; you could forget about development if that happened. No people, no development. It was as simple as that.
So what was the solution? They had to buy it! Buy food from the outside!
Wilder finally understood the feeling of money flowing like water. The massive funds accumulated by Morass were being consumed at a terrifying rate every day. It was clear they wouldn't last much longer. At most, perhaps half a year, and Wilder would have to declare bankruptcy. And that was assuming all construction was halted; the cost of simply keeping everyone fed was already this horrifying.
Wilder had to admit he had underestimated the challenge. Building a nation wasn't so simple.
"Hold a Grand Tournament! All members at the cadre level and above will participate! The objective is to set out from the capital, head to the sea, and hunt Sea Beasts, fish, or even Sea Kings—anything goes! Bring them back! The one who kills the most and brings back the most is the champion! In addition to the standard rewards, the winner can also make one request of me, whether it's for a Devil Fruit, money, or a promotion!"
Wilder had no choice. He had to grit his teeth and make this ruthless decision.
They couldn't rely solely on buying food; they had to find a way to develop their own resources! The fishing industry was a good path. Having seafood to eat would solve part of the food problem.
However, the common people had no boats and no money. It wasn't that there were none at all, as this was once a nation that had seen some development, but how many could they possibly satisfy?
There weren't enough. Wilder wanted to build ships, but the most pressing issue was providing food and warmth. For now, the only option was to trade food for labor. This was currently the only thing of value the nation's people possessed.
Wilder's subordinates were not common folk. Civilians went to sea in boats and could only catch fish. His crew was different. When a group of them went to sea, they would turn the world upside down. What was a Sea King? So many superhuman individuals could kill one with a single strike each.
So, the Grand Tournament was a front. The real goal was to catch fish to fill bellies. But it was also an opportunity to train his subordinates.
Because this was destined to be a brutal and dangerous struggle. Those who wanted to eat a Sea King had to be prepared to be eaten by one!
With the exception of Claire, who Wilder had confined to focus on developing her abilities, everyone else, from Vice at the top down to the regular members, all high-ranking officers and cadres, set out.
Massive carriages and enormous, mobile freezers were deployed.
They advanced towards the coast.
They would undergo half a year of "special training." Countless would surely be injured or killed, but those who survived would be absolute monsters. Lowly members could become cadres, and cadres could become high-ranking officers.
And as for their "sparring partners," the Sea Kings and the like... well, in a tournament, bumps and bruises were inevitable. Deaths would naturally occur. Those creatures would be used as food in exchange for the labor of the common people. This would achieve the goal of preventing starvation while also serving as an alternative form of trade. At the very least, they wouldn't have to worry about manpower for construction. Want to eat? Fine, come work for it.
Wilder would never resort to oppression; it would do him no good. Money was never obtained through oppression. Being supported by the people was the fastest way to wealth.
"The food problem is temporarily solved, to an extent. The amount spent on buying food will decrease, so we won't have to spend so much. But this isn't a long-term solution. We must establish maritime trade as soon as possible."
Wilder fell into troubled contemplation.
"We are already having to buy some building materials from the outside, and soon, we'll probably have to buy all of them. This represents a massive trade volume. I believe no one would be able to resist it."
So... who to choose?
He couldn't use his forces in the East Blue for now. Most of their combat strength had already been transferred here. Moreover, he had been frequently transferring funds and resources from the East Blue over the past few months. If this continued, his East Blue operations would be dragged down by the kingdom.
That meant he had to start from here, in the New World. Besides, the distance from the East Blue was too great; the transportation costs were too high to be worthwhile.
Who was there?
At first, Wilder had considered giving this boon to the Marines, but right now, they were desperately short on cash. Every single berry that could be saved had to be saved.
This brought up a key difference between the state of Morass and that of other countries in the world.
That's right—no one else needed building materials! At least, very few would buy them from other countries. The nations of this world had one thing in common: no matter how barren, an island or country would only develop to the extent that its own resources could support. They never overreached.
Furthermore, these countries had all formed gradually over many years, which meant they would never encounter the kind of problem Wilder was facing now.
For example, if their country had only two stones, they would use those two stones to build two houses, and not one more. Because... they were suited to having only two houses. They had developed into that state naturally. Then one day, the country suddenly got rich because the population gradually grew. Then one day, they found another stone on the mountain behind them, and so... oh, let's build another house.
That was how they developed. They never had to worry about building materials or food, because you can't feed two people with one loaf of bread. So it was roughly like... oh, let's just have one loaf. It's fine if there are fewer people. When we get another loaf, we can make another person.
Resources would naturally control the human population, always maintaining it at a certain number. This was the norm in this world.
So, in the end, Wilder's problem was that he clearly lacked the resources, yet he insisted on making his nation bigger and stronger. What could he do? He could only take from the outside! But taking required money, and the current situation was that all the money was being used to maintain the lives of this "bigger and stronger" population. This left no extra money to "take" from the outside.
It was a vicious cycle, a deadlock.
Of course, if there were a generous "outsider" willing to help, that would be a different story.
So Wilder thought about it, and ultimately, guided by the principle of maximizing profit—or rather, maximizing savings—he turned his gaze toward his "friends."
Kaneshiro and Dana.
The two of them could be considered Wilder's subordinates. Dana went without saying, and Kaneshiro was already tied to Wilder's fate.
Therefore, Wilder wanted them to handle the building materials. By giving this massive deal to them, he could at least negotiate the price down. At worst, the low cost of the materials would still allow them to make a huge profit.
Wasn't there a saying? Your money is my money, and my money is still my money.
No matter how much money Dana and Kaneshiro ended up making, wouldn't it ultimately belong to him, to Wilder? Although he wouldn't take it, he would at least let them use it to expand their forces and their businesses. And weren't those things, in the end, his?
All in all, he wouldn't lose out on this deal. Although he still had to spend money on construction (after all, even at the lowest price, there were still costs for extraction and transport), the profits would not be flowing to outsiders. They would circulate and ultimately bring benefits back to him.
Wilder quickly dialed Kaneshiro's Den Den Mushi.